Snow Going Back

Chapter 35

THIRTY-FIVE

By the twenty-third of December, Kate had successfully organised, listed and legally bound all parts of Cora’s estate. The only thing left to do was officially note who it would be going to, but Kate wasn’t able to do that until at least after she’d met with Edward Moreaux. Frustratingly, Kate knew as little about him now as when she’d arrived. She’d found it odd that no one ever seemed to mention him in the small town that was so greatly centred around his brother’s life’s work, but she’d not been able to bring him up.

Everyone knew who Kate was and why she was here, and they all also knew the details of the contract, thanks to Aubrey. Legally she had to be very careful. She wasn’t allowed to share any details yet and had to be especially careful that she didn’t accidentally share something about one interested party with another. Aubrey had made her interest public and linked herself to Kate before she’d even arrived, so there’d been no harm in asking questions about her. But Edward was another story.

Having done all the work she could for now, Kate had taken the day off and was now laid back under a blanket in the lounge armchair thinking about life. There was a lot to be said about just lying there. She’d always felt guilty taking time to do this back home, like she should be doing something else. Something worthwhile. Lance detested the act of lying about. He said it was lazy. But she didn’t agree, and she’d now decided to let herself rest like this a whole lot more, going forward.

The front door opened in the hall behind her, then closed again. She heard Sam stamp his boots, then he paused by the door. Kate craned her neck to look backwards over the arm of the chair.

‘Hey, how’s things?’ she asked.

‘Good. And you?’ Sam came in and sat in one of the other chairs.

‘Fine. I was just contemplating life,’ she said simply.

‘That bad, huh?’ he joked. ‘What particular part of life are you contemplating?’

‘All of it,’ Kate answered with a shrug.

‘That’s a lot to process in one go – no wonder you needed to lie down.’ Sam laughed and ran his hand back through his dark salt-streaked hair, releasing a long breath. ‘Actually, it’s not a bad idea. I’ll join you.’

Kate watched him close his eyes for a moment, wondering how often he just sat and did nothing.

‘Did you know they call stress the silent killer?’ she asked him, recalling a warning her father had given her years before.

Sam opened his eyes and looked at her with a tired flicker of amusement. ‘I did. My uncle drummed it into me when I was younger. Made me promise to take time to rest and for myself in life. Not take it too seriously.’

Kate smiled broadly. ‘My dad did, too!’

‘Yeah?’ Sam grinned. ‘Well, they can’t both be wrong.’

‘No.’ Kate’s smile lingered as she looked up at the ceiling.

Her phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. It was Lance. Her heart dropped, and the little buzz of worry he incited in her these days awoke in the pit of her stomach. It continued ringing, and she bit her top lip anxiously. She should answer. But she didn’t. It rang off, and she relaxed again, looking back up to the ceiling.

She could see Sam watching her from the corner of her eye and was aware he’d have seen the screen.

‘Everything alright?’ he asked carefully.

Kate nodded. ‘I’m just busy right now. Relaxing is important.’

‘It is,’ he agreed. ‘It’s good to have time to do that with no distractions. Very healthy.’

‘Yep,’ she replied simply. She tapped her fingers together with a slight frown, and there was a short silence.

‘ Still… ’ Sam murmured.

‘Yes?’ Kate prompted eagerly.

Sam looked sideways at her, a slow grin creeping over his face and deepening his chiselled dimples. ‘I do have one other idea…’

Two hours later, Kate threw her head back, laughing maniacally, her hair whipping back and forth across her face as she spun in circles and hurtled down the steep hill in a slick circular sledge.

‘ Woo-hoo !’ she yelled, raising her arms up high and laughing as the echo bounced back at her.

She slid to a slow stop at the bottom and was tossed out at the last moment by a stubborn snowdrift. Standing back up, she grabbed the sledge and began to jog back up the hill, panting slightly from the exertion.

‘What’s the matter?’ Sam asked, overtaking her on the way up with a challenging grin. ‘Have I worn you out already?’ He wiggled his eyebrows and sped up.

Kate laughed again, feeling wonderfully carefree as they played away the afternoon. The slope Sam had taken her to was deserted but for the two of them. A remote hidden gem that none of the local kids knew about.

‘Not a chance. It takes more than a few sprints up a hill to wear me out,’ she told him, catching him up at the top.

‘Yeah?’ He looked down at her, his breath freezing in the air between them. ‘That sounds like a challenge.’ He cocked an eyebrow.

Kate pulled her long dark hair back from her face and looked up, her frozen breath mingling with his. She felt the magnetic pull of him that she’d stopped trying to pretend didn’t exist and bit her lip, stepping away from him with a grin of her own.

‘No, this is a challenge,’ she said, stepping up to the steepest part and getting ready to dive down on her sledge. ‘Bet you can’t beat me to the bottom.’

Sam’s grin widened, and he let out a low chuckle as he followed her with a determined glint in his eye. ‘Oh, you’re on , lawyer girl.’

Kate shrieked as he sped up. ‘Winner gets to cook the turkey!’ She dived off the edge just as he reached her.

‘Whoa, the stakes have been raised !’ Sam dived after her.

Kate cackled with glee as she looked back. A moment later though, she realised he was catching up with her. ‘ No !’ she wailed. ‘I take it back! The turkey’s off the table!’

‘No way – too late,’ Sam shouted as he slipped past. ‘Weight always wins at sledding, rookie!’ He turned onto his back for the last part of the slope and laced his hands behind his head, shooting her a grin.

She let out a sound that was half laugh, half frustration as Sam became the clear winner, but then her attention sharpened as she realised they were running too close together. ‘Hey, watch out !’ she called.

Sam looked back just in time to see the upcoming collision, and he pushed off his board, grabbing hers and instinctively shielding her in a bearlike grip just before impact. Kate turned into him, letting her board fall away, and they rolled over and over for what seemed like an age, until they finally came to a stop in a mound of deep fluffy snow.

Unsure which way was up after their dizzying fall, Kate blinked and tried to blow the crazy mess of hair off her face, scraping it back with her hands when that didn’t work, and as her line of sight cleared, she met Sam’s stunned gaze above her. They stared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing.

‘Oh my God, that was crazy!’ Kate exclaimed.

‘That was reckless ,’ Sam added with another shocked laugh. ‘We really should have thought about that before we jumped.’

‘Well, we’re alive, so…’ Kate trailed off, suddenly incredibly aware of the weight and heat of Sam’s body on hers.

He was still holding her close to him in his tight, protective grip. She looked up at his handsome, chiselled face as their cold, white breaths mingled in the air and saw his expression change as he registered it, too. The air suddenly seemed heavier, this thing between them that kept rearing its head whenever she let her guard down filling every pore of her body and every inch of space around them like it was liquid. A warm and dangerously addictive liquid. Kate pulled in a deep breath, but that movement didn’t break the bubble this time. This time, the invisible pull just seemed to grow more intense than ever.

‘Yeah,’ Sam murmured, his voice low. ‘We are.’

It was different this time. Harder to pull away, with the heat of him pressed against her and her own traitorous body begging not to be peeled away. But although it took every ounce of energy she had, Kate ripped her gaze from his and slowly pulled back. She might not be able to control her feelings, but she could still control her actions. Even if doing so felt physically painful.

Feeling her move spurred Sam into action, and he instantly released her, pushing back to give her space. He looked away, quickly shielding his expression, but not before she caught the brief troubled frown.

‘Sorry, I must be crushing you,’ he said, standing up and shaking himself off.

‘No, not at all,’ she replied. There was no evidence of how shaky she really felt in her voice, she realised thankfully.

Shaking the snow out of her hair, she turned away for a second to get a more solid grip on her composure. Taking a deep breath in, she turned back around with a bright smile.

‘Well, I think I’ve had my fill of near-death experiences for today! Shall we head back?’ She waited, praying he didn’t try to convince her to stay. She needed to get away from him for a while and clear her head.

‘Sure,’ he replied. ‘I’ll grab the boards. You head on back to the truck.’ He pulled the keys out and threw them to her.

‘Thanks,’ she said, catching them.

Kate watched him walk away, her smile dropping to a worried frown. This was becoming a problem. A very real one. She’d tried reasoning these feelings away and shutting them off, but neither was working. She needed to get away, get him out of her head completely. She needed that headspace to focus on her other worries. On her real life. And hopefully, in a few more days, she’d be able to do that. She just had to get through Christmas. Because Christmas was now one more thing they were going to share.

When he’d learned she was staying in Vermont, Sam had officially invited her to spend the day with him. Kate had been surprised, assuming he’d have plans with friends or family. Jenna, at least. But Sam admitted that he’d turned down all the invites that had come, wanting to just be at home one last time, surrounded by his memories of his aunt. Kate’s guilt had hit an all-time high, and she’d instantly tried to book a hotel, apologising for encroaching, but Sam had stopped her, insisting she stay. He hadn’t actually wanted to be alone, he’d told her. He just hadn’t wanted to be anywhere else. And so Kate had accepted, quietly resolving to try to make this first Christmas without Cora easier for him any way she could.

But as she watched him now, yet another problem on top of all the others she was already juggling, she wondered how on earth she was going to get through Christmas without totally cracking under the pressure of it all herself.

As Sam pulled onto the drive and switched off the engine an hour later, Kate was so lost in her tangled thoughts that for a moment she didn’t move.

‘Kate?’ Sam prompted gently.

‘Hmm?’ She looked around. ‘Oh. Right. Sorry, miles away.’

They got out of the truck, and Kate turned back to gather her things.

‘Excuse me, ma’am?’

She looked around and saw a young man walking up the drive towards her. Sam had taken the boards to the door, but he returned now with a frown.

‘Can I help you?’ he asked.

The man ignored him, his beady gaze still on Kate. ‘Are you Ms Kate Hunter?’

‘ Wait …’ Sam put his hand out in warning, but it was too late, as Kate spoke at the same time.

‘That’s me. Can I help you?’

She realised what was happening just a second too late. The envelope was thrust into her hand, and a flash went off as the guy took a picture. ‘Consider yourself served,’ he said, walking off quickly now that his job was done.

Kate groaned, annoyed at her own stupidity.

Moving to stand beside her, Sam watched the man leave with a grim expression. ‘Aubrey wasn’t bluffing then.’

‘I never thought she was,’ Kate replied with a sigh.

‘Well, that’s that then,’ he said, turning back to the house. ‘I guess you’re taking this battle to court.’

‘Yeah,’ Kate replied heavily. ‘I guess I am.’